National U-8 chess champion Shubhang Pradhan won the Player of the Year 2025 award. Nihana Shrestha was declared Queen of the Himalayas 2025.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
Naveen Tandukar, who has been a regular challenger on the chess board for 43 years, has been awarded the Himalayan Lifetime Achievement Award. The award was presented on Saturday on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Himalayan Chess Academy.
The award and cash prize were presented to Tandukar, the champion of the 2045 National Chess Championship (1988), by Nepal Olympic Committee President Jeevan Ram Shrestha and comedian Madan Krishna Shrestha at a program organized at the Royal Singhi Hotel on Saturday. The 66-year-old Tandukar, who played in the Martyrs' Memorial A Division League from Sankata Club, said that this honor was the most important in his life.
National U-8 chess champion Shubhang Pradhan won the Player of the Year 2025 award. Nihana Shrestha was declared the Queen of the Himalayas 2025. Similarly, Prasit Khanal received the Rating Excellence Award, Prabir KC received the Himalayan Tactical Titan, Satwikman Tuladhar received the Himalayan Arena Award, Nayuma Magar received the Community Service Award, Ayan Joshi received the Special Award, Ariz Rai received the Himalayan Spirit Award and Leon Maharjan received the Fair Play Award. Biraj Sarada won the Emerging Player of the Year 2025.
Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Gehendra Rajbhandari, former Member Secretary of the National Sports Council (NSC), Tanklal Ghising, Deputy Director General of Surya Nepal Ishwar Gautam, Joint Secretary of the Sikkim Olympic Association Mahendra Dhakal and others presented the awards to the best chess players of 2025. Earlier, former Youth and Sports Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha and founder of the Himalayan Chess Academy, Monalisha Khambu, had released the new calendar for 2083 BS.
Former member secretary of NSCEP Ramesh Kumar Silwal, senior deputy chief executive of Laxmi Sunrise Bank Sumed Bhattarai, former captain of the national men's cricket team Gyanendra Malla, history-making karate player Erica Gurung and coach Kushal Shrestha, mountaineer Purnima Shrestha, co-founder of Himalayan Outdoor Project Anup Gurung, executive member of NSCEP Subarna Shrestha, member Kumar Lama Ghising, ward chairman of Kathmandu Metropolitan City 4 Dinesh Maharjan and others were present at the program.
The founder of the academy, Khambu, gave a detailed presentation about the work and action plan done in the last two years. The academy is organizing the second edition of the Himalayan Queen's Gambit on Sunday at Thapathali Chess Park in Kathmandu 11. It is said that more than 100 players will compete in the Himalayan Queen's Gambit, which will be an official competition under the World Chess Federation's 'FIDE Women's Chess Marathon'.
